Many winding apparatuses require an operator to manually load cores onto a winding spindle in preparation for winding a web onto the core. Often the web is manually attached to the core via a slot in the core, or attached by the use of adhesive tape between the core and the web, or attached by the manual application of glue between the core and web, prior to winding. These approaches of cinching the web to the core are time consuming and are difficult to automate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,729 illustrates a rewinder mandrel system that teaches applying glue to the core, to enable web attachment. This approach does not lend itself to providing a web trailer end of a stock roll, which is not contaminated and not wrinkled.
Also, many winding apparatuses require an operator to manually wrap the last convolution of web around a completely wound stock roll, and then manually tape or glue the web leader to the stock roll to secure the web from unwinding. This approach taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,729 is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
In both approaches described above, the core and tape or glue must be manually removed in subsequent operations. This is time-consuming as well, and again difficult to automate. Often, portions of the web that includes tape or glue may need to be cut off and discarded in subsequent operations, such as in a splicing operation, because the edges of the web leader and web trailer are contaminated. This can be wasteful and also difficult to automate.
In many industry applications, a web is wound to a specific length, and there is no need to cut the web leader and trailer ends in registration with other portions on the web, for example, perforations in the web. Also in most industry applications, the required accuracy of cutting the web leader or web trailer in relationship to these web perforations is not critical. However, in the photographic film industry, for example, there is a desire to provide specially prepared stock rolls of perforated web to an ultrasonic lap splicing operation, to simplify and automate the overall web handling process. In an effort to provide these prepared stock rolls of web in an automated fashion, there is a need to automatically load cores onto a winding spindle, cinch a web to a core without the use of tapes or glue, and to automatically tack down an outer convolution of the web to its stock roll. Also, providing stock rolls of web, with both web leader and web trailer ends cut in registration to their adjacent web perforations, eliminates the need to cut off the web at subsequent splicing operations, which greatly simplifies the down stream process of on-pitch splicing.
A common ultrasonic splicing device, used for motion picture film, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,538. This ultrasonic splicing apparatus requires the operator to manually cut off the web trailer and web leader ends, and to discard them in preparation for splicing. Notably, providing prepared stock rolls of web, which would not require the cutting and discarding of this web, would greatly simplify the overall splicing process and be easier to automate. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,207 stock rolls of web are delivered to an automatic splicing system, which performs ultrasonic lap splicing on the web. However, the system is not capable of splicing perforated webs on pitch, and therefore the stock rolls do not have any special end cut registration requirements that would make this teaching feasible for the photographic industry where such registration requirements are critical.
Consequently, there is a need to automatically provide stock rolls of a perforated web, which have web leader and web trailer ends prepared (i.e., cut) for subsequent on-pitch registration and overlapping ultrasonic splicing. Also, there is a need to automatically generate stock rolls of web that do not unwind during handling or transport. There remains a need to automatically load cores onto a winding spindle, and then automatically cinch the web to the cores without the use of tapes, adhesives, glue or mechanical attachment in preparation for winding. Furthermore, there is a need to create stock rolls of web, which provide a means for acquiring the web leader of a stock roll for subsequent splicing operations.